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Saturday, January 14, 2017

The left (broadly defined, which includes people like
myself), have been trying to understand how the United States could elect
someone like Donald Trump. We though that his clear lack of qualifications, his
deplorable views, and his lack of a Presidential temperament, were so obvious
that the country would elect Hillary Clinton in a landslide. We were wrong. Ink
has been spilled, articles have been written, people have argued in person and
online over the past two months. This is my attempt to join in the fray.

This past election cycle, and the cultural trends that underlie
it, was an expression of powerlessness. Powerlessness is defined as “lack of
ability, influence, or power”, and when one feels powerlessness, one often acts
seemingly irrationally.

I grew up for most of my life in Central Illinois. The small
(by American standards), rust belt community of Peoria and its surrounding
environs were where I came of age, where I drove a car for the first time, where
I had my first crush, where I lived my life. I grew up with the Tremont Turkey
Festival, Gills Supper Club in Hanna City, Avanti’s Italian restaurant, and
watching the Bradley Braves dominate in Basketball. I grew up constantly aware of the precarious
position of my city’s economy, for as the headquarters of Caterpillar, I knew
family after family whose livelihood was dependent upon the well-being of that
company.

I also grew up hating Chicago.

Growing up in Central Illinois in a politically active
family, the specter of “Chicago” was always in front of me. Did we go and
visit? Yep. Did we enjoy the city when we were visiting? Of course. But did we
hate the city and all that it stood for in Illinois? Absolutely. To me, Chicago
drained the economy of Illinois. I perceived that all the tax money went to
support the city and not the downstate and I always felt that no one cared
about my community…because “Chicago” was the economic engine of the State. The
Democrats didn’t need to court voters in Peoria or Mt. Vernon, because they had
Chicago…so why even bother. For example, when Democratic Governors from
Chicagoland didn’t want to move to Springfield, we took that as a slap in the
face.” Who cares about those hicks in the boonies”, we thought Chicagoans were
telling us, “real people live only in Chicago”.

You may ask how this has to deal with the idea of
powerlessness. How the ramblings of a guy who grew up in Central Illinois might
explain the rise of Trump.

I still hate Chicago.

Irrational, I know. Do I not know that without Chicago,
there would be no Illinois? Yes, I do. Do I know that without Chicago’s tax
money, downstate Illinois would not be able to pave our roads or provide social
services to our citizens? Of course. But this knowledge doesn’t deal with the
resentment. It doesn’t deal with the fact that downstate Illinois has never
felt ‘listened too’. The money that Chicago throws to the rest of Illinois isn’t
enough to get past the sneers of derision and superiority that people from the
downstate feel – rightly or wrongly – that Chicagoans give us.

Illinois is America. In fact, most States have similar
dynamics. Tennessee? West TN is not as “sophisticated” as Central TN. Minnesota?
The Twin Cities are the reason why the State does so well, who gives a shit
about Greater MN. New York? Lol at the idea that the Upstate matters, NYC is
where it is at.

Those who are not in the cities, the coasts, or the cultural
capitals of America do not feel listened too. They feel powerless. Their way of
life is disappearing, and instead of listening, we mock them. Are there very
negative manifestations of how rural America has dealt with this feeling of powerlessness?
Absolutely. Many have resorted to racism, homophobia, misogyny, or anti-Semitism
as a way to express their anger and their feelings of resentment. But these are
symptoms of this deeper problem of powerlessness.

Those of us on the left have tried to use facts. We have
tried to point to the fact that the urban centers of this country provide the
ability for rural America to live the way they do. We have tried to point out
that immigrants, LGBT people, and people of color all make contributions to our
society that should be celebrated. We point out that rural Americans are “takers”
from the productive urban areas, we emphasize that rural areas have more power
than they should in our federal structure. All to no avail. Why? But of the one
thing we haven’t done - actually address this feeling of powerlessness.

And until we do, until we meet rural Americans where they
are at, rather than where we want them to be, people like Trump will win.